America's Story: Abraham Lincoln (1989)

[Music] fly along On Eagle's Wings as I tell you America's story hello I'm Upton s Eagle but you can call me US Eagle for short we American Eagles are the national birds of the United States [Music] this America story is about Abraham Lincoln the 16th president of the United [Music] States welcome to the US Hall of History here you'll find wonderful Tales of adventures heroes and the events of our great nation I have managed to program it all in my friend here the brain omatic computer hi yet Chief I have all the information on Abraham Lincoln ready that's very good brainy let's begin our story from poor Beginnings Lincoln became one of our country's greatest presidents we are lucky to have many fine photographs of him say cheese Mr President he was the most photographed man of his time photography had just been invented thank you sir Lincoln was a tall man and he wore a tall stovepipe hat we see President Lincoln's picture every day on our peny the Lincoln penny and the $5 bill but more important we remember Abraham Lincoln for what he did for this country without Mr Lincoln there would probably be no United States today brainy show us the video Globe one moment please we're going to look at a map of the United States of America one moment please here we are today now let's go back to Lincoln's birthday February 12th 1809 1809 in 1809 there were 17 States people were moving Westward into the frontier the land just west of the states they were called Pioneers they made their farms and homes in the frontier Kentucky the 15th State Kentucky was close to the frontier it is the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln Lincoln was born into a Pioneer Family his mother father and older sister Sarah lived in a one room log cabin in the middle of the Kentucky Wilderness when Abraham was seven the Lincoln family left Kentucky and moved to Indiana Abraham and his father Thomas built another small cabin and then they started a farm that's hard work huny starting a farm true brainy pioneer life was not easy the Lincoln family was very poor doctors were far away when Abraham's mother Nancy Lincoln got sick she died Abraham was only 9 years old the family was very sad a year later Abraham's father married a kind woman named Sarah even as a boy Abraham Lincoln had a lot of hard work to do on the farm he helped his father chop trees plow the land and build split rail fences when Abraham Lincoln was not working hard he liked to read a favorite book of his was about the Great American Hero George Washington Abraham would daydream about the heroes of the American Revolution and and the fine ideas they had about the United States the Lincoln family moved again when Abraham Lincoln was 21 years old this time to the state of Illinois Lincoln was a grown man now so he set out on his own for the small village of New Salem he got a job in a general store for a while and then opened one of his own like this one that brainy has made for us the people liked Abraham Lincoln very much he was a very funny man who told stor stories and jokes he was also very honest once when someone overpaid he walked miles to pay them back so they called him Honest Abe I just love that he was so honest they called him Honest Abe actually brainy he only liked to be called Abraham right chief he found a law book in the bottom of a barrel he studied it and decided to become a lawyer the people of New Salem elected him to represent them in the ill o state government he moved to Springfield the new state capital he married a young woman named Mary Todd and bought a house soon Mary and Abraham had four Sons it was a happy time for Abraham Lincoln and he had a very good job as a lawyer he traveled throughout the state helping people who needed a lawyer if people were too poor to pay him he didn't charge them as he traveled he met more and more people and became very well known one of the subjects he talked with them about was slavery back in the time of Lincoln there were slaves in the United States a slave is a person who is owned by another person Lincoln did not like slavery slaves had to work for their owners with no pay except for food and a place to live as a Young Man Lincoln had seen slaves being sold like animals in his heart he felt that slavery did not belong in a Land of freedom but some people did not agree with him the country was bigger now more States had joined the union since Lincoln's birthday the north was against slavery The South was for it and people argued whether slavery should be allowed in new States people heard Abraham Lincoln Speak Out against slavery during the Lincoln Douglas debates Lincoln and Douglas both wanted to be elected senator from Illinois the two men traveled throughout Illinois and gave speeches large crowds came to listen to them political speeches were entertainment for folks back then Steven Douglas said that slavery was not so bad it should be allowed in the new States if the voters wanted it Lincoln said slavery must not be allowed in the new states of the United States Abraham Lincoln lost the election ction for Senator but his ideas and opinions traveled across the country quickly many Americans agreed with him so 2 years later they elected Abraham Lincoln president of the United States our 16th president a little girl wrote Lincoln that he would look more like a president if he grew a beard so he did hey chief how do I look in a beard oh brainy try and be serious about this the southern states were so afraid of what Lincoln would do when he became president they started a separate country they called it the Confederate States of America they wanted to keep slavery a War Began between the northern and southern states it was called the Civil War it began in 1861 the year Lincoln became president the Civil War would be a sad time for this country thousands of Northerners and Southerners would die in battle Lincoln believed it was very important to fight the war to keep the United States together he tried to end the Fighting by freeing the slaves in the southern states he did it with the Emancipation Proclamation Emancipation Proclamation those are two very big words H Chief they sure are what do they mean brainy well emancipation means being set free from From Slavery Proclamation is an official order as President Lincoln officially ordered that all the slaves in the Confederacy would be free but still the war continued Lincoln felt sad for northern and southern families who had seen many friends and relatives die Lincoln had seen two of his own Sons die they were little boys he knew how powerful that sadness could be in the Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln's most famous speech he spoke of his sad feelings about the Civil War and the men who died in battle he reminded everyone why the United States was fighting the war to make sure that this government of the People by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth a quote finally after 4 years the war ended the southern states would be part of the United States of America once more Lincoln decided that no one would be punished for the war or as he said with malice toward none with charity for all everyone would be forgiven the southern states would be welcomed back into the United States of America at the beginning of his second term as president after the war Lincoln went to see a play as he sat in the theator a man crept up behind him and shot him in the head Abraham Lincoln died the following morning it was a very sad time the country had lost a great [Music] president the Lincoln Memorial many years later the people of the United States built the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC it was built so that none of us would ever forget Abraham Lincoln we remember Lincoln for his honesty kindness and for his courage he ended slavery and he helped to keep our country together I'm us eagle and Abraham Lincoln the Civil War President is one of our greatest heroes in America's story [Music] oh 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